Switzerland signs off CHF1.3bn EU payment
Swiss State Secretary Livia Leu and the Secretary-General of the European Commission, Ilze Juhansone, have signed a memorandum of understanding for Switzerland to pay a so-called cohesion contribution of CHF1.3 billion ($1.36 billion) to Brussels.
Cohesion payments are seen as the entry fee for non-EU members like Switzerland or Norway to take part in the European Single Market. They are aimed at reducing economic and social disparities and to manage migration better in selected EU member states.
“The signing of this MoU markers another important milestone towards the swift implementation of the contribution,” the government stated on ThursdayExternal link.
Switzerland’s second such contribution had been withheld in 2019 following a stand-off between Bern and Brussels over future political ties. But the Swiss parliament voted in October last year to unfreeze the payment in an attempt to thaw frosty ties with its biggest trading partner.
But two months later, parliamentarians refused to endorse a proposal to double the size of the payment linked to persuading the EU to reinstate Switzerland as a full member of the Horizon Europe research scheme.
The CHF1.3 billion will be used to fund a number of unspecified projects in selected EU member states. The wording of the MoU was approved by Switzerland in November and by the EU in April.
State Secretary Leu was in Brussels on Thursday to conduct a third round of exploratory talks aimed at bringing both sides back together to negotiate future political ties. Switzerland broke off earlier negotiations last year.
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